NOTE: EARLY BIRD DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION FOR ICN CONGRESS IS FEBRUARY 14TH. GO TO http://www.icn2013.ch/en/ FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER

There will be a meeting of the Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Network from 14:30 to 15:50, Tuesday 21 May in Plenary Room 3 of the Conference Centre. The session will be moderated by Network core steering group Chair, Anna Greene and speakers will be members of the network core steering group. There will be interpretation available in English, Spanish and French.

The Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nurse (NP/APN) roles continue to develop and gain momentum globally due to changes in health systems and the move toward primary health care as a strategy to achieve Health for All. Increasing cost of health care, technological advancements, better informed consumers and the growing body of evidence regarding the contribution of Advanced Practice Nurses has led to the rapid expansion of Advanced Practice Nurse roles. Further, these roles have evolved to meet the health needs of underserved communities in different contexts across different countries. Advanced Practice Nurses are enthusiastic advocates for legislative and health policy change to meet population needs. This session will explore several "hot topics" related to NP/APN practice, regulation and licensure. It will include short regional updates on the current climate for advanced practice nursing including discussion of issues impacting practice. Participants will be invited to share and learn about current issues including scope of practice, barriers to practice, and role challenges and successes for the NP/APN role.

We hope those with an interest in advanced practice who are attending the Melbourne conference will be able to join us at this meeting